Marino to withdraw from concussion lawsuit

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino is suing the NFL for concussions. Unless he isn’t.

At a time when Marino’s motivation for suing seemed to be unclear at best, Marino reportedly will withdraw from the concussion lawsuit that lists him as one of the new plaintiffs.

“It was never Marino’s intention to initiate litigation in this case, but to ensure that in the event he had adverse health consequences down the road, he would be covered with health benefits. They are working to correct the error,” an unnamed source told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

To get that protection, Marino didn’t need to file suit. The proposed settlement will cover him; all he has to do to have the benefits is, frankly, nothing. If he doesn’t file suit and doesn’t opt out from the settlement, he’ll be part of it.

Lawyer Sol Weiss will now face questions about how Marino’s name landed on a lawsuit if that wasn’t his wish. It’s possible Marino signed something that he didn’t realize would result in a suit being filed. Indeed, as he reportedly negotiates with the Dolphins for a front-office job, suing the Dolphins and the rest of the NFL’s teams isn’t the ideal tactic.

It’s also possible, as suggested earlier today, that Weiss hoped to get as many names as possible under his umbrella, so that he’ll get more of the nine-figure award of attorneys’ fees. Possibly sensing that preliminary approval of the nine-month-old settlement is coming, Weiss pumped up his docket by more than a dozed players.

Then there’s the possibility that Weiss is frustrated that the settlement has languished on the desk of Judge Anita Brody, and that in lieu of asking her for a ruling (lawyers who ask judges for rulings risk getting rulings the lawyers don’t like) Weiss brilliantly filed a suit with Marino’s name on it, trusting that it would create enough buzz about the pending settlement to get Judge Brody to finally grant her blessing to it, so that the settlement process finally may proceed.

Regardless, it will apparently proceed without Marino as a named plaintiff. Which means nothing to his ability to secure benefits, if/when he develops a severe cognitive impairment that entitles him to payment.

Or what if???
I got drunk all the time and now I am stupid and broke. The liquor manufacturers owe me 100 times what I spent boozing it up, because they knew I wanted to get drunk.
That’s pretty stupid too ain’t it?

Former players need to get over it, I am on the fence about those who were provided meds without knowing what it was, but I’ll argue, in the 60-80s people smoked anything anyone put in a pipe. Why is an NFL player allowed to sue now?? They would have taken if the trainer said it will help you play with less pain and would’ve be happy about it.

dalfanforever says:Jun 3, 2014 2:30 PM

Well, that was quick. That whole “NFL legendary image” and all was at risk. Sounds like the NFL mafia got to him instead…

eaglesnoles05 says:Jun 3, 2014 2:31 PM

Can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, bro. Excellent job by your lawyer if this is true, which it isn’t. He heard backlash from fans and wants out now for PR reasons.

justintuckrule says:Jun 3, 2014 2:33 PM

It could have been a prophylactic suit to avoid any applicable Statute of Limitations. I bet anything that he withdrew it in exchange for the NFL waiving its procedural defenses. His name brought another wave of publicity that the NFL wanted no part of. If the case is already essentially settled, it’s no skin off their teeth to waive defenses to get Marino’s name, recognition, etc. off the suit and get this issue out of the newspapers again.

I doubt Weiss would risk the enormous payday he’s getting ($250M or so?) adding a few more plaintiffs.

The bottom line is this: Yes, the players knew the health risks of playing football and if your current poor health is the result of playing a violent game, than that sucks, but you should not have any legal recourse to sue the league.

BUT

If the league, or team doctors mislead you about your condition (i.e. “No, you don’t have a concussion) or lied about the stuff they were giving you (“Toradol is totally risk-free!”) then the players do have a case. The fact that the NFL settled means this might have occurred…or the league thought the players could prove it occurred.

I also think the league should provide health benefits to all former players…as many companies do to their retirees through pensions or other funds.

It always bothers me, what about us who played for the love of the game knowing that injuries could occur. Sure, we may not be playing with the same sized dudes and as fast of guys. But I played grade school, high school, and Division 3 football. I am not looking for a settlement. I knew what I was involved in. It just bothers me that these guys did not know how to spend their money/save/invest it when they had it.

I thought I saw somewhere that OJ Simpson receives or did receive something like $50,000 a month in pension. This is what I don’t understand: How can megastar players — like a Mike Webster, die homeless and broke? Sounds to me that their own family members are bilking them out of money the former players are entitled to receive.

I also think the league should provide health benefits to all former players…as many companies do to their retirees through pensions or other funds.

Just a few points here.

First I wasn’t eligible for a pension until 25 years, 30 if you could barely live on it, from my job.

Second, these guys played Junior high, high school, and college ball. Then maybe 3 years on average in the league. Are you saying all their medical conditions were caused by 3 to 5 years of pro ball. Silly to even think that.

Marino got a 13 or some low score on the Wonderlic…this score clearly shows his true intelligence…he sues the NFL–then realizes he’s looking for a Dolphins FO job so he withdraws…clearly he’s not smart enough to be in the Fins FO. (Jets, Bills, and Pats fans, disagree at your will…be as sarcastic as you please…)

puntonfirstdown says:Jun 3, 2014 3:09 PM

The same guy who agreed to be the Dolphins’ Senior Vice President of Football Operations for a couple of weeks until he didn’t want to be the Dolphins’ Senior Vice President of Football Operations. The guy who makes a decision and then instantly regrets it and tries to get out of it.

mackcarrington says:Jun 3, 2014 3:13 PM

NFL pensions are based on the highest salary a player made during his career. I don’t think Mike Webster ever made as much money as O.J.Simpson.

swortybounce says:Jun 3, 2014 3:23 PM

You mean to tell me if I sue my future boss, there’s a possibility he won’t hire me?!

His name on the list of plaintiff’s spelled certain failure for the lawsuit, as everyone knows Marino’s release was so quick, he was never hit during his entire NFL career. As a matter of fact, legend has it he wore the same uniform for 17 seasons, because it never got dirty.

justintuckrule says:Jun 3, 2014 4:21 PM

Those of us with big screens all know that watching NFL games may hurt our eyes and cause us to lose our vision early, right? OK.

So, if the NFL KNEW that watching its games on big screens caused fans to contract orbital cancer but didn’t say anything because people would stop watching, do you owner slurpers still think that fans should be screwed because they watched games on big screens knowing that it could hurt their eyes???

Players knew their was a risk of concussions but did not fully know what that entailed because the NFL CONCEALED THOSE FACTS!! I doubt visible players such as Marino are doing it for the money but instead are doing it to make the lawsuits more credible for the poor schmuck that was hurt AND to bring awareness to the issue.

A lawyer doing something to get more money, NO WAY. See the NCAA lawsuit. Lawyers supposedly spent 30 million and the settlement is for 40 million. Hope Ed Obannon likes getting his fat 4 figure payday.

ghjjf says:Jun 3, 2014 6:08 PM

Marino didn’t want to lose this court case just like he lost the Super Bowl.

His name on the lawsuit was a shocker. Now that he has withdrawn and stated it was never his intention to sue anybody beckon these question as to under what circumstances his high profile name ended on the legal documents. Some lawyer should be worried about legal malpractice somewhere.

Informed consent requires an basic explanation to you A to Z about what you are getting involved with and if Marino didn’t get the 411, I see trouble for the responsible people.

jimeejohnson says:Jun 3, 2014 7:35 PM

“A lot of people seem to forget that the players have millions but the owners have billions! The league should and can easily afford compensation.”

thats the thanks we get for putting Mr No Super Bowl Wins in the hall of fame….we could of put Jim Plunkett in the hall of fame as he lead his team to 2 super bowl wins and doesnt hold a grudge against us even with all the sacks he took….you should rethink this buddy….NFL spokesman

What a lame excuse. His attorney’s could’ve done a better job than that. It’s apparent he didn’t think this through far ahead and realize how suing the nfl will affect his future income. So they needed to come up with a plausible way to get out of it. It seems like his team thought even less than he with that bs excuse.